Women's Center - A-Z Index

When you have urinary incontinence

Definiton

You have urinary incontinence. This means you are not able to keep urine from leaking from your urethra, the tube that carries urine out of your body from your bladder. Urinary incontinence may occur because of aging, surgery, or childbirth. There are many things you can do
to help keep urinary incontinence from affecting your daily life.

Skin Care

You may need to take special care of the skin around your urethra. These steps may help.

Clean the area around your urethra right after urinating. This will help keep the skin from getting irritated. It will also prevent infection. Ask your health care provider about special skin cleaners for people who have urinary incontinence.

Using these products often will not cause irritation or dryness.

Most do not need to be rinsed off. You can just wipe the area with a cloth.

Use warm water and wash gently when bathing. Scrubbing too hard can hurt the skin. After bathing, use a moisturizer and a barrier cream.

Ask your health care provider about deodorizing tablets to help with odor.

Clean your mattress if it becomes wet:

Use a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water.

Once the mattress has dried, rub baking soda into the stain, and then vacuum off the baking powder.

You can also use water-resistant sheets to keep urine from soaking into your mattress.

Diet

Eat healthy foods and exercise regularly. Try to lose weight if you are overweight. Being too heavy will weaken the muscles that help you stop urinating.

Drink plenty of water:

Drinking enough water will help keep odors away.

Drinking more water may even help reduce leakage.

Do not drink anything 2 to 4 hours before going to bed. Empty your bladder before going to bed to help prevent urine leakage during the night.

Avoid foods and beverages that can make urine leakage worse. These include:

Caffeine (coffee, tea, some sodas)

Carbonated drinks, such as soda and sparkling water

Alcoholic beverages

Citrus fruits and juices (lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit)

Tomatoes and tomato-based foods and sauces

Spicy foods

Chocolate

Sugars and honey

Artificial sweeteners

Milk and milk products

Get more fiber in your diet, or take fiber supplements to prevent constipation.

Follow these steps when you exercise:

Do not drink too much before you exercise.

Urinate right before you exercise.

Try wearing pads to absorb leakage or urethral inserts to block the flow of urine.

Controlling the Need to Urinate

Some activities may increase leakage for some people. Things to avoid include:

Coughing, sneezing, and straining, and other actions that put extra pressure on the pelvic muscles. Get treatment for a cold or lung problems that make you cough or sneeze.

Very heavy lifting.

Ask your health care provider about things you can do to ignore urges to pass urine. After a few weeks, you should leak urine less often.

Train your bladder to wait a longer time between trips to the toilet.

Start by trying to hold off for 10 minutes. Slowly increase this waiting time to 20 minutes.

Learn to relax and breathe slowly. Or do something that takes your mind off your need to urinate.

The goal is to learn to hold the urine for up to 4 hours.

Urinate at set times, even if you do not feel the urge. Schedule yourself to urinate every 2 to 4 hours.

Empty your bladder all the way. After you go once, go again a few minutes later.

Even though you are training your bladder to hold in urine for longer periods of time, you should still empty your bladder more often during times when you might leak. Set aside specific times to train your bladder. Urinate often enough at other times when you are not actively trying to train your bladder to help prevent incontinence.

Ask your health care provider about drugs that may help.

Pelvic Floor Muscle Strengthening

Your health care provider may recommend Kegel exercises. These are exercises in which you tighten the muscles that you use to stop urine flow.

You may learn how to do these exercises correctly using biofeedback. Your health care provider will help you learn how to tighten your muscles while you are being monitored with a computer.

For help in finding a doctor or health service that suits your needs, call the UPMC Referral Service at 412-647-UPMC (8762) or 1-800-533-UPMC (8762). Select option 1.

UPMC is an equal opportunity employer. UPMC policy prohibits discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, sex, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, familial status, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected group status. Further, UPMC will continue to support and promote equal employment opportunity, human dignity, and racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity. This policy applies to admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in UPMC programs and activities. This commitment is made by UPMC in accordance with federal, state, and/or local laws and regulations.

Medical information made available on UPMC.com is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not rely entirely on this information for your health care needs. Ask your own doctor or health care provider any specific medical questions that you have. Further, UPMC.com is not a tool to be used in the case of an emergency. If an emergency arises, you should seek appropriate emergency medical services.

For UPMC Mercy Patients: As a Catholic hospital, UPMC Mercy abides by the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, as determined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. As such, UPMC Mercy neither endorses nor provides medical practices and/or procedures that contradict the moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.